Portable Toilets Placed at Woods Occupied by Homeless

The 12-acre swath of woods off McWilliams Road and Highway 303 where between 14 and 18 homeless people are living now has two portable toilets to serve them.

The toilets were dropped off Friday at the north entrance to the woods, after Kitsap County Health District chief Scott Lindquist received a complaint from a neighbor about odor and exposed human feces in the woods.

Lindquist called a meeting of social-service leaders who advised him not to ban the men and women from the woods, but instead to install the toilets.

Health District spokeswoman Cris Craig said the owner of the property has given permission for the toilets to remain there through September.

The cost for the toilets — $100 a month for the two — is being supported by public donation through Kitsap Community Resources. Skookum Contract Services is the supplier.